The Healing
by Amelia.whispers
Summary: Disowned by his high class family, Sasuke sought the comfort of the young Sakura Haruno who shares the same hidden past. He discovers himself as he falls deeper in love.
1. Glass Ceiling

The Healing

Chapter 1: Glass Ceiling

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** Please read and review .**

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Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

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My father was right. I'm no match for my older brother. He's mastered maturity, the social arts in conversations, politeness, business talk, and financial dealings in my fathers company.

My disownment was a right that I disdainfully earned which is why I was wondering around the streets without an umbrella to cover my shameful position and let the rain drip down my ragged face. And I let myself starve in my favor.

Lying in the uncomfortable position I was in, on the polluted ground under the contaminated sky filled with haze, a girl unknown to me looked down at my jaded physique. And I wondered if she knew that I could see down under her frilly ripped black skirt, I think she had some shade of pink under garment.

In a faint second felt as if my body was being lifted up from the ground. This must be how it feels like in one of those cheesy movies where angels bring you above, but I know I am far too unworthy for such events. Not too long after, I began to reminisce during those days of my youth.

I played the role of the incapable son and little brother. Overshadowed by the brilliance of the man name Itachi Uchiha. I recalled a time when he used to use all his time just to be a brother to me, but that was deemed unnecessary by my father the day I started high school. No longer did we do what brothers did in every family in formal and silent society of Konoha. The park that my brother and I used to go to during those days when we would go outing was replaced by stores and family owned businesses during my younger years. My fathers company started to rise and we soon became a product for the success of my fathers accomplishment. After those days no longer did we enjoy ourselves as we grew further and separated from one another. It was not because financial districts would steal the private places we visited, but we belonged in different levels of greatness and class. My father and the rest of m family looked down at the sad and pathetic skill set I had, I was not worth their effort and time. Shunned and discarded like an old rumor, we grew separated and led different lives. We could not help each other nor did I let him help me. I considered myself as a waste of time as he was far to great to spend it with a failure of a person like me. I tried to be a perfect son, suffered to be at the top of peers in school, dressed formally, spoke in good manner, gritted my teeth when insulted, and dealt with the constant complaints of my low standards. In the end nothing had worked. I lived with a glass ceiling, no matter how much I tried to reach for the top, I could never reach it not matter how hard I tried or how much time I spent on it. I could never compete with my brother.

The severity of the falsehood I've created myself was solely based on the approval of my father and his people. To serve under him would've made me high ranking, well liked, approved, looked up to, and it would have brought to the seat of greatness where my brother sat in up to this day. He was the rightful heir.

As I thought of these numerous memories and muses, the unfamiliar ceiling began to look clear to me now. Where was I? I thought heaven, but that is far too kind because I did not deserve such an honorary seat or place as a classy place like heaven. So I forced myself to believe that I was kidnapped by a rose haired female assailant.

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**Authors Note:** Please review and tell me what you think. I'm hoping this will span for more than 3 chapters (meaning hoping that I don't randomly stop writing chapters) so I need opinions by the readers. Is it any good?

If it's confusing please tell me to clarify and critiques on my writing style or grammar would be do nicely.

-Reviews will keep me going.

-Thank you for taking the time to read this.


	2. The Flood

The Healing

Chapter 2: The Flood

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** Please read and review .**

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Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

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With her small stature, I couldn't imagine for her to be the person to have carried me to this bleak brown room. She was brewing something in the kitchen that had the scent of tea and chocolate. Maybe with a hint of milk as well. I'll admit that her tainted white apron reminded of me the maids we had back in the family compounds. My mother relied on these people to do all the work for her while she supported my father with ''kind' words and disciplined me in the family library where no one heard us. In those days, before I met Uzumaki I never truly realized how much my mother scared me. I merely categorized her as the same with every living being.

As a mother, she would often limit my free time, make me feel guilty, command me like some kind of dog. The last thing I ever noticed about me mom was that she had a short temper like my father.

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I recall one important day on that rainy night, there was a black out and we had to rely on match lit candles to see our way through the house my mother held another one of her sessions downstairs in the library then told me that I had to be "polite and kind to the public", at the time I spoke out that, that is considered as lies if you weren't truly kind. She said it's considered that it was fake optimism, but insisted that it is still lies. It was then that I realized at how petty our family was: Dishonest and non-trustworthy. My perspective on the lives around me changed and I realized that my mother was wearing a mask. I felt a shock like none other. Was everyone's smiles and kindness towards me in school fake? Did everyone lie to me when they could? Every chance they could get? Was I not worthy of honesty? Because I could not match up to the skills of my brother. Or my father? But what I do know what was true was that my father looked down on me. In my mind there was a plague of monsters, black hideous creature with a thick bronze mask and with a sinister smirk as they looked down on me. I was invulnerable to their tallness.

I retorted "how ugly" out loud; my mother did not turn to a blind eye when I muttered this. In her outburst of rage she came up, bent her knee a little to match up to my height as a 14 year old, smiled sweetly then began to hit me with the use of her slender fingers. "Who do you think you are" and "what do you think you're doing to this family?" she repeated over and over again. I could remember the sound of her hand as it hit my cheek and the thud of when I hit the ground as she continued to hit me. With my one eye undamaged I remembered how 3 candles lights went out, it must have been from the amount of air I had blown out from my mouth as the pain throughout my body increased.

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As I lied on the floor of the pink haired girls room, I felt the pain of my body during that time. The time remained on the cold cement ground of that dungeon. That library. I ran away from home after that event. As usual no one had missed me when I came back. No one noticed.

It was in the Konoha South River that I met Naruto Uzumaki. It wasn't until he stopped me from dying in the raging waters of the river that I realized that I was scared of my mother's lessons, my family's elite class and the façade of my fellow human beings. I was a child. I did not know any better. Who knows, I might now have changed much at all. But the fact that he jumped to save this pitiful life made me realize that I had tried to run away from this repressed life. I was a coward. I probably still am.

I tightened my fist after I came up to land and choked on bits of unclean water. His tan face yet baby soft skin was then plastered by bruises and blood from the wrath of my right fist. "Just let it out, but don't throw away your future. I'm sure you just needed to let out some steam. Dying would probably be best for everyone. Do you really want to give in and do what they want?"

As my bloodshot eyes widened I realized that this goofball from my class made a good point: I was sick of following orders. I decided to annoy them by surviving. Leaving would be best for everybody including myself. I had to annoy them even myself if I had to. I decided to live.

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I was gone for about a week away from home and stayed in Uzumaki's not so luxurious home. When I got back, I was not greeted by anyone, I felt as though no one noticed that I was there, the maids went about their house chores and the other family members minded their own business. Whether they knew that I had been missing or were ordered to ignore me did not matter. What I had wanted to accomplish in my arrival at that time was a confrontation with my mother. "You're ashamed of me aren't you? And mother you have no right to hold motherhood position." This had a great insult to her. When she first saw me she held such indifference, but underwent through different emotions as I said those. Her cold raven eyes widened then her eyebrows furrowed in anger. It was a quiet day I came back so it wasn't a shock when people within the household heard her scream and cry.

They came and saw her on the floor then they asked what had happened while they glared at me. "He suddenly yelled at me then pushed me to the ground. I was just being a good mother". She had the gall to forge tears and sorrow. I only wished that I could've told her that she was frightening. I closed my eyes and thought of her fake feminine wiles. She was indeed scary.

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I wasn't aware of the hours I've slept on the ground of this ever so bright room since the scent of tea was still fresh in the air, but I think that's because this room is on top of a mini teashop.

She said that I had asked for help when she came by yesterday in that rain. I wonder if she lied because I don't recall every asking for help from anyone in my lifetime. But it didn't really bother me so much as I found it something interesting to muse about.

I'm pretty sure that hours have passed since I last woke up because she was no longer here. I was alone with food on the table. My stomach made an irritating noise as soon as I saw the dumplings, rice, tea, and soup flatly put on the table on the corned of the room next to the window. I was starving. I had not eaten since yesterday and I knew I was complaining, but before I could think about it, my mouth had already consumed the white dumplings and rice. I ate like a poor man, eating every little bits left on the plate. I at least was decent enough to wash the dishes before I left. I wonder why I did that…? It felt as if I was poor man in my past life.

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His name was Kankuro who owned the teashop called "Tea Leaves" and I swear no one had any creativity these days. He looked like an ogre with his face paint on, but I started to think of today's culture. I accepted that. His brother though was someone that I could not stand with his nonchalant attitude and faded green eyes, I left before Kankuro could introduce me.

On my way towards the train tracks the rose haired girl sat in front of the red and white stop sign. I was too busy focusing on the warm feel of the weather on my skin and the rubbles of the huge piles of pebbles in the surrounding area that caused me to wonder if I was really in Konoha. Far focused on these matters to hear the words coming out from her cherry colored lips, but with the trains passing by I doubt I could hear what she's actually saying. One thing I was able to hear from her mutter was the word "Uchiha," she must know about our company, about our money seizing company.

I did notice, however, that she wore a white summer dress with some wet sandals on the soles of her feet and I remembered, though she had already walked away, that I did not know her name.

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**Author's Notes(Time for my rambles):**Yay I updated. I'm not sure if this is considered late, but I was writing out ideas with the side of doing school work and goofing off. Thank you to my first 3 reviewers :). Okay that is not a lot, but it is something at the very least.

I might actually redo the first chapter to add more information and I feel that it's too short so I will probably add more history stuff to it, maybe the same length as this chapter. Don't hate me for this .

And yes I know this story is going a bit slow and not much sasuxsaku going on here but it will be coming. I just wanted to do a history of 'this' Sasuke because he is out of character. I wrote this chapter in a way that could be easily understood I suppose. (I hope I did a good job on that part at least)

**Extra Note: ** If anyone actually wanted to know on why I made Sasuke this way:  
I wanted to make him seem more 'human' and 'normal'. Someone who has regrets, failures, confusion, and hunger. Since in most fanfics Sasuke is godly in a way. I wanted to get away from 'that' in my fiction.

-Reviews will keep me going.

-Thank you for taking the time to read this.


	3. Contact

The Healing

Chapter 3: Contact

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** Please read and review .**

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Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

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For whatever reason I found myself in front of a silver polished phone booth. My nimble fingers pressed hesitantly on the black numbers in front of me. The dreadful first ring echoed in my wax filled ears as I clutched and crumpled the piece of paper in my left hand. My eyes closed shut as in embarrassment; her voice was as sweet and high pitched as I last remembered.

"... Sakura?" I felt a gulp down my throat in a shy behavior.

"...Uchiha" I winced with disgust at that sound. "It's just Sasuke." I thought of a way to say this out loud. "Sakura listen to me."

"Yes?"

"I'm lost." There you have it, an Uchiha lost in Kanoha, the place he was born in and lived in his entire life. My whole family would look away in shame if they were ever found out. We have businesses set up in many places and yet I, the child and product of the most popular business in the city, does not know where he was in Kanoha.

If Uzumaki were here, he'd tell me to stop joking around and hung up the phone without warning. "Where are you... Sasuke?"

"Somewhere central west Kanoha. According to the welcoming flag sign across the street."

"You crossed the bridge?"

"I did?" I recalled spacing out on the bus I was on after I somehow ended up near my family compound after I acquired the teashop's business card. In order to prevent being seen by any unnecessary meetings with people I might've known, I took the closest public transit then ended up here. I got off after I heard the driver say "terminal."

Now that I thought about it, "I don't know what bus I rode... I can't get back to northern Kanoha."

"Well alright then, I'll come pick you up. I'm guessing that you could see a teashop there called 'Quick Tea Shop'.

"hm?... Um... Yeah I could see it." I swirled my head in a 90-degree angle and saw it behind me directly across the street from the phone booth.

I waited an hour until her pink hair came to my sight. I stood beside the brown roofed tea place

On her hands were 2 gray-colored umbrellas; I guessed it would rain sometime soon. She wore her usual short black leggings and some kind of patterned skirt that resembled some of high school uniform with its checkered pattern.

I tried not to look at her to avoid eye contact because of my embarrassment, but it didn't seem to bother her. She did not smirk or laugh. Deep down in my mind I was asking myself: Wasn't I being a burden to her?

She just took a seat inside the teashop with that sincere grin on her face as she looked at the menu. She asked if I had anything specific that I wanted to order and I replied with the 'I'll take what you're ordering.'

A thought occurred in my mind: Do I even share my own opinions? Do I even have a mind of my own? It's like I am just going with the flow with an occasional disregard to very few people. For as long as I could remember I did everything requested of me: I read the books my brother did, I ate what I was told to eat no matter how sickening it was to my body, and wore clothes that designated from a certain brand. So naturally I wouldn't know what I drink to choose from. I've never drunken tea in places like this shack with a very floral design to it. Back at home we would only drink the finest tea from the most extraordinary designed teacups. I had to do all that to please the family and our name. I was prohibited to do anything outside of our tradition.

She noticed I was in deep thought and struck a small conversation with me with that smile plastered on her delicate pale face without so much of any uncaring attitude expressed in her features. I'm sure she could tell I was bored with my straightforward frown and continuous sighs. At the same time I was sure that she wasn't aware that I had patiently waited for her time to tell me the shame of I bring to my name.

"What is this? A smoothie?" I popped the question out loud when the drinks came. The color was a bit orange with some kind of round balls at the bottom. It was foreign to me.

"Bubble tea!" I could only stare at her alongside the weird expression that bulged from my face. Her voice had this high-pitched sound that resonated of childishness, happiness, surprise, and friendliness. What was this 'bubble tea' that she spoke of?

The round soft balls in the bottom of the black tea and milk mixed together was an edible thing called 'tapioca'. I was embarrassed at myself for never having tapioca in my diet as a child. When Sakura described to me that bubble tea was popular among the newer generation of people and among teens my age, I felt like an old person. I… never heard of these sorts of things that a society outside my own family society. It was like two worlds split apart from each other. My world was in black in white. To belong to a certain group, to be aware of this era's commodities made me think if my father knew about this I was certain that we could cater to the popular trends of the year and achieve a higher reputation if we could attract consumers of all ages not just the politicians or the elder citizens. If I knew about this long ago then shared the idea would my father have praised me?

"Hey Sasuke?" She finished the last sip of her drink and I compared it to my own. I noticed that she really loved this stuff; this fact was made more evident when she asked if she could have my drink if I wasn't going to finish it.

"Can you make tea, Sasuke?" Huh? In my life I have never heated anything up before. I was spoiled and captivated within the walls of the Uchiha name that I never had time to follow trends, have fun, or make food and drinks for the taste of it. Of course I knew I would end up lying to her. "Yeah, of course. I am an Uchiha after all."

"Hm really?" Somehow I got the feeling that she didn't believe me. Through years of teaching from my mother I learned how to lie with good execution. Maybe it was my nonchalant expression that gave it away or maybe it was that I not once looked at her after she described to me what this bubble tea was.

We finally left after Sakura paid the bill and we got closer to the Tea Leaves store. The closest stop to the teashop that the public bus could take us was on top of a hill. Our bad luck struck us as soon as we got out of the bus. Heavy rain, strong wind, and thunder came about so strong that the umbrella's Sakura was holding would not open, no it would've most likely broke if she was able to open it. Drenched with water and our shoes carrying water that we brought loud sounds with our feet as we made a run for the store.

As it turned out there was an energy deficiency all around the neighborhood. We had tor rely on the scented candles that were lying around the store. We minimized the amount of steps we took to prevent the store from being covered in mud and water.

There was always something about rain that made my body ache: it was the rain the reopened the wounds on my back from the scolding's years before. The rain was some kind of alcohol that stung my wounds. I couldn't help but touch the wounds through my wet velvet clothing.

Sakura came out with some towels in her hand. In truth I never had experiences like ones I had with Sakura: such as having her close to me as she undressed under the candle light with my face towards the wall and I did the same. She covered her lower and upper body in a white towel. Again another foreign event has taken place today: to undress myself with only a towel to cover my lower figure with an almost female stranger just behind you in her room. We didn't talk once as we dried ourselves until Sakura suddenly grabbed me from behind and dragged me to the floor. Usually anyone would know what could possibly happen in a situation like that especially with a male and female alone in such circumstances. Though in this case anyone would find Sakura a rather peculiar girl. Sakura had some unknown ointment in her palm with mole-sized cream on her fingers and rubbed it on my wounded back. I pretended as though the pain wasn't there. Her soft fingers rubbed on the burns and scratches marked on my body and not once has she asked where I got them and somehow I feel slightly disappointed.

After two or three minutes of her treatment Sakura spoke something that made my cheeks burn just for a little bit. "I don't care how you got your wounds or how long you've had it because I am going to make it go away! After all my ointment is very special. So it has to go away." Just like a child, but I couldn't help to smile at her. She's so peculiar.

As the rain and thunder began to dwindle, Sakura got up and went to some kind of box on the wall, as I heard some switch being flicked, the lights came on and I had to cover my face from the brightness. I squinted my eyes while Sakura came towards me as I lied on the floor flat on my chest. I looked up at her and thought that Sakura was a girl who was responsible and independent, far from what I was like.

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I slept over on Sakura's tiny apartment, above the Tea Leaves, and slept on a soft couch while she slept on some red cushions and pillows close to the wall. I headed downstairs after I heard Kankuro's voice call out to me, "Sasuke someone is here to see you."

Without having to see the face of my caller, my calm state of mind vanished in an instant after I saw him as he sat on a chair not too far from my location. I knew that hairstyle anywhere: that long refined and well treated hair handled with intense care only acquired through the Uchiha maids. That calm position as he sat there as if nothing was bothering him. I clutched my fist and headed in his direction. I tried to act unfazed by is appearance until I reached his table and banged my hands on top of the table. As usual Itachi remained tranquil as he softly opened his eyes to look at my absurdity. "I didn't want to see you! Why are you here? You're not my brother anymore! I was disowned remember!" Blazed with anger and jealousy towards this man. The man that I hated yet admired at the same time. I wasn't sure if I still felt admiration for this man because my dislike for his success made me determined to triumph over him though I had no way of achieving that.

"It doesn't matter if you are disowned, we are brothers through the blood that runs in our veins…..I know you won't come with me but….here you're going to need this." He presented an envelop on the table filled with money. Rage continued to grow in my body and I felt both my eye and fingers twitch. It was mockery in my eyes. He was skilled enough to acquire a better finance than I would be able to in my lifetime and he knew that. Truly vain my brother was. "I don't want your pity! I don't need your money! I can take care of myself." I told myself that I could succeed without my family around although this was big heap of lies even he knew that. I was torn between two choices: try to live without my family with my inept ability to understand the current society or go back to them and just be a puppet. Both ways, I would still be a failure. Of course I chose the path that Itachi wasn't included in.

After Itachi left with the money still on the table I did what Kankuro suggested that I do: I decided to go find a job.

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**A/N: **This is a bit late and I didn't get a chance to re-work on the first chapter, but I had to get this one in. Hope you guys liked it. I added Sasuke and Sakura parts but not in a way that would be really fluffy sasuxsaku stuff. I was going for a warmer and softer feel/mood.

As Usual:

-Reviews will keep me going.

-Thank you for taking the time to read this.


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